The present invention relates generally to the field of sports headgear and, in particular, to a new and useful ventilated liner for football or other hard-shelled protective helmets.
Published U.S. patent application US2010/00299812 filed as application Ser. No. 12/476,534 on Jun. 2, 2009, discloses a protective arrangement for a sports helmet and is incorporated herein for reference for its showing of a ventilated helmet padding system for use with the present invention. Pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/634,447 filed Dec. 9, 2009 also discloses a TPU foam jaw pad and is also incorporated herein for reference for its showing of additional padding for optional use with the present invention.
The following are listed as being of interest to an understanding of the present invention.
U.S. or application No.Inventor(s)U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,959DunningU.S. Pat. No. 5,915,819GoodingU.S. Pat. No. 4,566,137GoodingU.S. Pat. No. 3,994,020VillariU.S. Pat. No. 3,994,021Villari et al.U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,022Villari et al.U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,365SchultzU.S. Pat. No. 4,060,855RappleyeaU.S. Pat. No. 2,618,780CushmanU.S. Pat. No. 3,186,004CarliniU.S. Pat. No. 6,934,971Ide et al.U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,203Kraemer et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,801Alexander et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,271Alexander et al.U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,889InfusinoU.S. Pat. No. 5,720,051JohnsonU.S. Pat. No. 6,530,092PopeU.S. Pat. No. 4,035,846JencksUS 2003/0200598Jessie.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,959 to Dunning teaches an inflatable liner for attachment to the interior surface of a football helmet. The inflatable liner comprises a plurality of inflatable bag-like cells designed to be situated around a wearer's head and include means for coupling at least certain of the bag-like members together for the transfer of pressurized fluid, such as air, therebetween.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,203 to Kraemer et al. teaches a liner for a football helmet which includes a hollow inflatable strip and a hollow flap extension located generally midway along and formed integrally with the strip, dividing the strip into left and right arms. This permits a fluid, e.g., air, to flow freely throughout the liner interior.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,021 to Villari et al. teaches a helmet including, a shell and two flexible liners positioned in the shell to dissipate forces applied against the helmet. The liner has fluid filled a chamber and a plurality of openings extending through the liner. The helmet also has a plurality of resilient pads. The shell also has a plurality of ventilating apertures extending through and spaced around an upper portion of the shell.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,855 to Rappleyea teaches a football helmet, having a flexible liner positioned in the shell to dissipate forces applied against the helmet. The liner has a pair of flexible liners or cushions. The first and second liners each have a hollow annular member and a plurality of hollow spaced spoke members extending from and communicating with the annular member of the respective liner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,365 to Schulz teaches a protective helmet which includes an outer shell and an inflatable bladder mounted on the interior surface of the shell. The bladder includes a group of cells extending to the lower rear octants of the wearer's head and to the upper octants of the wearer's head. The cells are inflatable through a valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,934,971 to Ide et al. teaches a football helmet which includes a shock absorbing liner associated with the inner wall surface of a shell. The shock absorbing liner includes a plurality of resilient members which are adapted to absorb shock forces exerted upon the shell, and the plurality of resilient members disposed along the inner wall surface of the back and sides of the shell. The shock absorbing liners disclosed in this reference each include an inflation valve which mate with an opening or port disposed in the rear of the shell, whereby the shock absorbing liners could be inflated as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,801 to Alexander et al. discloses a football helmet having a liner which is segmented into a multiplicity of individual cells separated by constrictions. Except for a central ring, the surface of the liner is comprised of essentially semi-cylindrical shapes extending along the loops and the reverse side of the liner is essentially flat.
Despite the known use of various types and configurations of gas inflated cells in helmet liners, a need remains for an improved ventilated helmet liner combination that both efficiently ventilates the area around the athlete's head and also contributes to the overall shock dissipating effectiveness of the helmet.